Why Kith Brooklyn Is the Sweetest Sneaker Store in New York City

You may have eaten cereal hundreds, even thousands, of times in your life, but have you ever munched down a bowl against a backdrop of sneakers and streetwear just a couple of blocks away from Barclays Center in Brooklyn? At the new Kith, which opens tomorrow in Prospect Heights, this could be part of your new morning routine.

What does Ronnie Fieg's streetwear empire have to do with carefully curated combinations of childhood cereals? As it turns out, not a whole lot, other than that it's always been Fieg's dream to open a cereal bar. "There's the Seinfeld thing," Ronnie says, referring to Jerry Seinfeld's longtime affinity for both cereal and Air Jordans, "but it could also just be that most New Yorkers don't have time to get up and cook." Essentially, Fieg means that with a shiny new storefront courtesy of Daniel Arsham and his firm Snarkitecture, why not? Of course, the whole experience is Kith-ified via special menu items designed by some of the biggest names in streetwear today, from Virgil Abloh to Don C to even Ronnie himself. And everything on the menu is served out of—what else—shoe boxes. (For the record, Ronnie's combo of Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, mini marshmallows, Oreo bits, and whole milk is one of the most indulgent on the list.) But maybe the cereal thing just has to do with the universal nostalgia for childhood, when a fresh pair of kicks brought the same amount of joy as convincing your mom to spring for Cookie Crisp over Corn Flakes.

Once you've completed your maybe not-so-balanced breakfast and are up for some actual shopping, head back through the foyer-like Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras Nike sneaker installation (which will be changed out in six to eight weeks' time for a new product spotlight) and into a shockingly open space. In typical sneaker stores, you'd expect to see a giant wall of shoes at the back, but at Kith Brooklyn, kicks merely flank the floor in beautiful glass cases. Behind those are where shoppers will find apparel from Y-3, Off-White, Public School, Norse Projects, and of course, Kith's house label. The floors are what Ronnie calls "herringbone marble," and the walls are covered in mirrors, which make the already large space feel enormous, especially when you notice that all in all, there isn't that much product to choose from. That isn't to say the store feels sparse, but it has the same air of exclusivity that makes Ronnie's sneaker collaborations some of the most coveted in the business. (Even more exclusive is the VIP lounge area in back that only 50 of Ronnie's closest friends will have access to.)

If you've ever been to Kith's current sneaker mecca on Bleecker Street in Manhattan, you know that one of the most buzzed-about aspects of the store is the installation of ceramic Air Jordan Is that hangs from the ceiling. The new space, in honor of Ronnie's second store, features ceramic Air Jordan IIs to see (or, more likely, Instagram). But that is basically where the similarities end. "Everything I wanted to do with the Manhattan store that I couldn't do, I carried over into this space," Fieg says. It's true that the Brooklyn outpost feels like one complete vision, whereas the store in Manhattan seems to be several different rooms and vibes all under one roof.

But why here, in this relatively remote part of the borough? At 233 Flatbush Avenue, the store is worlds away from the mini-mall of Williamsburg. Even its clean white aesthetic is in stark contrast to the red brick, worn-down look of almost all of the neighboring buildings. "This space doesn't fit in with this neighborhood," Fieg says. "But I wanted to create something that people around here could be proud of. In 10 years, it probably will be surrounded by other spaces like this, but I wanted to be one of the first." Whether you share Fieg's pioneering spirit or are simply in the mood for something Grrrrreeaaaat!!!, Kith Brooklyn is a sign that he's finally ready to shed the sneaker-guy title and share Kith on a new level. "Products change, but you'll remember a great experience for the rest of your life." An odd thing, perhaps, to say for a guy who sells stuff for a living, but he's right. Kith Brooklyn is, above all, a fun place to be.

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